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750ml
Bottle:
$14.99
The wine has a deep, rich purple color. Intense red fruits are on the nose, with black pepper spice and a touch of...
![Aeris [By Rhys] Nerello Mascalese 'Centennial Mountain' 2019 750ml](https://www.saratogawine.com/files/images/cached_thumbs/d4/d4180ece6a416f3caebb31584f0eeba0.jpg)
750ml
Bottle:
$51.30
$54.00
Pouring a jeweled ruby hue, the 2019 Nerello Mascalese Centennial Mountain Vineyard brings forward sun-kissed aromas...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.44
$21.60
12 bottles:
$17.10
This wine has great color, with a dark purple and red hue. There are spicy, earthy aromas of black cherry, black...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.00
12 bottles:
$27.44
The 2016 Zinfandel Monte Rosso Vineyard is medium garnet-purple in color and opens with notions of raspberry tart,...
750ml
Bottle:
$25.20
12 bottles:
$24.70
From two old vineyards, located in the municipality of Randazzo and Castiglione di Sicilia, on the northern slope of...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.89
$17.49
12 bottles:
$15.83
This is a very successful Zinfandel, blending earth, spice and fruit into a savory, yet thirst-quenching package....
750ml
Bottle:
$28.13
6 bottles:
$27.57
A rich wine with layers of raspberry, cherry, and blackberry complemented by vanilla, licorice, and toast....
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$21.35
A lush, full-bodied Zinfandel that blaze dark berry, earth and grassy aromas that complement a rich and complex...
750ml
Bottle:
$45.36
$50.40
The 2019 Zinfandel Cat's Cradle is similarly hued but has a purer, crisper, more youthful vibe as well as ample plum...
750ml
Bottle:
$43.20
$48.00
6 bottles:
$34.40
Dark plum and black-cherry flavors show great richness and breadth in this mouth-filling, slightly tannic wine as it...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.64
$15.41
12 bottles:
$11.52
With an abundance of fruit aromas, the wine is produced from 100% Petite Syrah grapes from the vineyards of the...
750ml
Bottle:
$52.94
12 bottles:
$51.88
Tightly focused and refined for a Zinfandel, this version packs in deep flavors of black cherry, licorice and roasted...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.87
12 bottles:
$21.43
Dynamic and generous, this Zin combines old-school briar with sleek suppleness, serving up stylish flavors of...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.32
$19.28
12 bottles:
$14.00
Bursting with aromas of luscious black cherry, blackberry with hints of toasted coconut and Tahitian vanilla. Silky...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.20
12 bottles:
$27.64
This is a big fruit bomb of a Zinfandel from very old vines, offering intense strawberry-boysenberry syrup aromas...
750ml
Bottle:
$7.61
$10.58
Aromas of cocoa and mocha, with flavors of boysenberry, blackberry and blueberry.
750ml
Bottle:
$13.93
$15.48
12 bottles:
$11.58
This wine is rich, concentrated with aromas of blackberry, cumin, dried herbs and florals. The palate offers black...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.93
$15.48
12 bottles:
$11.58
Flavors of cranberries and raspberries, leading to notes of red fruits, marionberry pie and baking spices.
Mavrodaphne Mencia Petite Sirah Zinfandel
In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.
Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.
Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.
Additional Information on Greek Wines
Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?
Petite Sirah was first brought from France to America in the 1880s. It later went on to become one of the only grapes to make it through the devastating Phylloxera virus in the 1890s, both World Wars, and the Great Depression. During Prohibition, it was a main ingredient used to make sacramental wines. In fact, through the 1960s it was a major blending grape in a number of the finest wines produced in California.
By itself, a bottle of Petite Sirah usually has no problem making a quick impression on consumers. With a large amount of natural color and tannins, wines made with the grape commonly feature intensive sweet fruit characteristics like fresh raspberry or blackberry jam, black pepper spice, and plenty of backbone or structure.
There are a number of different styles available. Some concentrate on highlighting fresh, fruity flavors; others are bigger, more voluptuous; and it keeps going up the ladder until you reach the powerful, more machismo-style category.
The precise origins of what became known as the Zinfandel grape variety are uncertain, although it has clear genetic equivalents in both Puglia and Croatia. However, when it was brought to the New World in the mid 19th century, it became known as the Zinfandel, and has been consistently popular and widely grown ever since. These very dark and very round grapes have a remarkably high sugar content, resulting in relatively high levels of alcohol in the wines they are made into, with bottles often displaying as much as fifteen percent. What makes the Zinfandel such an interesting grape, though, is the fact that the flavors produced by this varietal vary considerably depending on the climate they are grown in. In cooler valley regions, the Zinfandel grapes result in wines which hold strong flavors of tart and sweet fruits; raspberry, redcurrant and sweet cherry, held in a very smooth and silky liquid. Conversely, warmer regions result in more complex and spicy notes, including anise, pepper and hedgerow berries.